1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to product display, and in particular to product display shelves having a spring driven pusher to force product to the front of the display.
2. Background
In retail stores, shelves are necessary for displaying and storing products. When a product is removed from a shelf, a gap remains on the shelf where the product was stored. Remaining products may be stored further back on the shelf, but may be difficult for a consumer to reach.
A number of different types of devices are known for automatically pushing product forward. For example, gravity fed rollers allow certain products to advance so that a product is always present at the front of the display. Another example is a spring driven pusher plate where the spring driven plate advances toward the front of the display as product positioned between the pusher plate and the front of the display is removed.
Although spring driven pusher plates are known, a number of problems arise in the implementation of current spring driven pusher plates. One problem is that springs may break or lose their force and need to be replaced. Replacement of springs may require disassembly of a tray unit in which the pusher plate operates. A further problem is that products vary in width and displays may need to be reconfigured to accommodate a change in products. A shelf with pushers on fixed tracks may have few or no options for reconfiguring because the pushers cannot be moved about within the shelf.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus, which takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.